whitney



L. L. WHITNEY.-

ADJUSTABLE BRAKE HEAD.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19. 191].

Patented Dec. 2,1919.

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L IRI/9%?" WMP/6566, f g 1 @l L. L. WHITNEY.

ADJUSTABLE BRAKE HEAD.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19. |911.

1,323,342. Patented Dee. 2,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

5696, JCI/@Infor ZOna/L Y 'entran srarns PATENT oriucn LOREN L. VHITNEY, OE HAMMOND, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR T-O AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRIES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

ADJUSTABLE lBRd-XKE-HEAI).`

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

Application filed July 19, 1917. SerialNo'. 181,484.

This invention relates primarily to thel railway art, and. more particularly to adjustable brake heads.

@ne of the objects of this invention is to improve the manner of adjustably mounting brake heads on beams to obtain more eilicient results.

Another object is to provide a 'novel brake head adapted to meet the various requirements for successful commercial operation.

These and other objects are' accomplished by providingl a brake' head including` a body portion with an opening Vfor tne reception of a beam trunnion, and adjustably mounted` means for frictionally holding the head with respect to the beam.

The invention is illustrated on the accompanying sheets of drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a brake head embodying my invention; j

Fig. 2 is another sectional view of the same brake head taken at right angles to the section shown in Fig. 1, and Figs.. 3 and 4- are loneitudnal sectional views of brake" heads embodying modifications of my in'- vention.

T he various novel features will" be apparent from the following description and drawings and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

rhere are many advantages in having brake heads adjustably mounted upon the trunnions of a brake beam, chief among'these advantages being that the beam may be hung in relation to the wheel at any desired or suitable distancey from the rail and at the same time allow the brake shoe to be concentric witli the wheel. Vith this arrangement the brake head, after beingapplied atany suitable location and at the desired angle with the brake beam, is maintained in that position and at the same time permits of an automatic adjustment so that if there is any change in the relation of the brake' beam and the wheel, the bra-ke head and its shoe will automatically be adjusted to concentricity with the wheel whenever the,

brakes are applied.

By referring first to Figs. l and@ of the drawings, it will be noted that l have shown a brake beam 10 having cylindrical trunnion 11 upon which my novel brake head 1Q isadjustably mounted, the cylindrical trunnion being received in the cylindrical opening 13m the body of the brake head 12. The t'ru'nnion 11 ofthe brake beam has a circumferential groove 111 formed therein.

1n' the lower part of the ,brake head an opening or pocket 1:3 extends from the bottom of the brake'head toand' registers with Athe transverse cylindrical opening 13A of the brake head. This cylindrical pocket 15, which is at right angles to the opening 13, incases among other things a bearing block 16, the curved surface 1T of which bears against the surface ofthe circumferential groove 14e in the brake beam trunnion. rlhe bearing block 16 is normally pressed-with a relatively great force and held in engagement with the groove 14; of the beam trunnion by' a resilient member' or' coiled spring 18, one endof which engages the lower portionof the. bearing block and the other end of which is backed by a screw plug 19 having threaded engagement with an internal threadedportion 2T() of the cylindrical wall of the poci'retl'. The plug, may be screwed into the pocket any desiral'alel amount to compress the spring 18 a corresponding amount and thereby vary the pressure of bearing blockV against the groove inthe trun'nion to vary the; frictional'engagement between the bearing block 16 and the grooved portion of the trunnion. When the plug, which also acts as a' closure to the pocket, has been screwed into the pocket the desired amount, the same may be locked` therein by inserting a Cotter pin 21. throughV registering openings 22 in the plug and openings 23 in the lower end ofthe and beam trunnicn in a given relation withV respect to each other'.

It, however, during brake application there is any shitting in the relative location of the brake beam and the wheel, the friction between the block 16 and the trunnion will be overcome and the brake head will be automatically shifted to a dierent angular position for maintaining the brake shoe concentric with the wheel.

It will be noted that the bearing blocl: 1S itting between the shoulders formed by the groove le? in the trunnion also retains the brake head in its longitudinal position on the trunnion and prevents the head working oil' the trunnion.

In assembling the parts, a bearing block 16 is dropped into the pocket 15 and is allowed to tall away so that the bralre head may be slipped upon the trunnion 11. In view of the fact that the bleek has been per initted to fall down out of the way, it does not yet engage the groove 1d in the trun-y nion. fitter the brake head is mounted on the trunnion of the beam, the spring 18 is inserted through the bottom ot the pocket 15 and pushed up against the block 16. The plug 19 is then inserted in the bottom of the pocket and screwed up compressing the spring 18 and thus forcing the bloclr 1G into engagement with the groove 1st, of the trunnion. By the time the 'plug 19 has been screwed up against the shoulder iii in the pocket, the spring 18 has been compressed almost solid and under sucn conditions eX erts considerable force against the block 1G resulting inv frictional holding ette-ct between the block 1G and the brake beam trunnion. After the plug 19 has been screwed into place the Cotter pin 21 is inserted7 as above indicated, to prevent the plug from backing out of the pocket. When the device is thus assembled the same is ready tor operation.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown modications of my invention which in principle are the same as the one shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with the exception of a variation in the threaded portion of the bottom or" the head and consequently a slight change in the method of asseniblinf.

In these modiications the bottom of the pocket 25 is closed except for a threaded opening 26 for a set screw 27. A. spring cap QSis inserted between the bottom ot the spring Q9 and the set screw 27 to provide a bearing for the spring. In every other respect the functions of the various parts and their arrangements are the same as in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In assembling the arrangement shown in Figs. 3 and e the spring` seat or cap 28, spring 29 and bearing block 30 are inserted in the pocket 2,5 through the trunnion opening of the bralre head in the order named. This is all done before the brake head is slipped onto the bralre beam trunnion. Sufficient depth is provided in the pocket 25 so that with the spring unloaded and at its :tree height, the bearing block 30 may drop far enough into the pocket to allow the brake head to be slipped over the trunnion. After the head is mounted on the trunnion, the set screw 27 is inserted and screwed up through the opening in the bottom of the pocket. Engaging with the spring cap :28 the set screw upon being screwed up further compresses the spring 29, lifting the bearing block 30 into engagement with the groove 31 in the brake beam trunnion. In the same manner as in the form of invention first described, the spring' is compressed to such a point that its resilience holds the bearing block in tight engagement with the groove in the t'runnion. The set screw may be locked in place with a lock nut 32, as shown in Fig. 3, or with a cotter pin 33, as shown in Fig. 1. After the set screw has been tightened into place and the lock nut jammed or the Cotter pin inserted the whole device is ready tor use.

By means ot the arrangement herein described it will he noted that the spring works comparatively close to its compressed height and therefore the available resilience and travel of the spring is relatively great. It is necessary that the spring be worked comparatively close to its compressed height :tor otherwise the arrangement would be comparatively ineffective, or in other words, the full value would not be obtained vfrom the spring and consequently there would be considerable loss in the frictional holding` eiliect between the block and the trunnion.

It is evident that there may be modiiications ot the invention other than those hercin particularly shown and described, and it is my intention to cover all such modifications which do not involve a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claim.

I claim:

A brake head including a body portion having an opening for the reception ot a brake beam trunnion, an opening registering with said irst mentioned opening. abloclr in the second opening engageable with the trunnion, a spring acting Aupon said block, and a threaded member for closing the second opening and for varying the force with which said block engages theI trunnion.

Signed at Hammond, Indiana, this 9 day of July, 1917.

LOREN L. ITI-IITNEY.

Witnesses 'Wa/r. C. LEIMBACH, J. M. EBERT. 

